In the early 80s, two different trends emerged in Greek cinema. Τhe first was the popular genre of social drama, with the director Yannis Dalianidis as its main proponent, which was enjoying a second lease of life many years after the 60s when it first appeared. The best-selling and extremely moralistic dimensions of this genre, combined with the phenomena of the time (juvenile delinquency, drugs, and subcultures) promoted the popularity of the social drama. The same path was taken by the Greek comedy, with films produced by M. Lefakis and K. Karayannis, which followed gingerly in the footsteps of the commercially successful films of previous decades and their topics.

The second trend of this period concerned an eclectic and esoteric negotiation of the filmic image and narrative, based on the image-forming vision of the rationale of the auteur, such as Theo Angelopoulos and Pantelis Voulgaris. Between these two different directions, however, one may detect a fine, dividing line, trod successfully by a handful of experienced filmmakers, such as Yorgos Stamboulopoulos, Takis Papayannidis and Tony Lykouressis. These filmmakers tackled topical and sensitive issues of the new decade, yet their films lost nothing of their artistic and narrative integrity. As part of this tribute, we will screen three films by these distinctive directors, whose gaze offers a different cinematic viewing of the 1980s – the “other” eighties.

Ursula-Helen Cassavetes